No Heroes Here

I love this post by Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures: “Understanding VCs“. He was reacting to a tweet by Joe Fernandez:

“too many young entrepreneurs talk about vc’s like they’re heroes and their blog posts are scripture” – Joe Fernandez

And Fred’s reaction is beautiful:

VCs are not heroes. We are just one part of the startup ecosystem. We provide the capital allocation function and are rewarded when we do it well and eventually go out of business when we don’t do it well. I know. I’ve gone out of business for not doing it well.

If there are heroes in the startup ecosystem, they are the entrepreneurs who take the biggest risks and create the products, services, and companies that we increasingly rely on as tech seeps into everything.

He goes on to help explain what VCs do and how they operate – in a succinct clear voice. His advice boils down to “listen carefully but don’t act too quickly.”

And I have to chime in, as an entrepreneur. Maybe entrepreneurs are the heroes of the startup ecosystem, but I think the heroes are their families that support them emotionally (and financially). The heroes are the teams that build their companies and don’t just follow their lead, but take it farther than they ever imagined it could go.

I think successful entrepreneurs don’t feel like heroes, we feel lucky. No heroes here. Lucky to have a team and a family that are working as hard as we are to make the dream a reality.